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Q : My windowsill herbaceous plant and salad jet garden is infested with tiny bugs that lay white eggs on the undersides of the leaves . Insecticidal soap causes the leaves to move around brown and fall . Is there another herbaceous plant - safe remedy?—Paul Girard , Baltimore , Md.
A : The culprit sounds like whitefly , a common blighter of plants grown indoors ; the “ orchis ” are really nymphs , immature insects . You might also have wing aphids , which resemble gnats . Both fly sheet and aphids suck the juices from plants , preferring soft , lush leave like those of salad greens and sweet basil rather than the rugged leafage of rosemary , thyme , or oregano . Although a soapy solvent is one of the safest defenses against worm wrong , it can cause leaf burn , the embrown you describe . Unlike their counterparts outdoors , windowsill - get plants are not hardened off by exposure to the elements , leaving them superfluous - sensitive to chemicals , no matter how secure . To avoid burning , habituate insecticidal soap or horticultural oil ( also low in toxicity ) at half the urge speciality — 2 1/2 tablespoons per gallon of water . Since a wet soap - spray finish can act as a electron lens on the leaf , concentrating luminosity and heat , remove the plants from lineal Sunday before spraying and wait until they are teetotal before put them back . ( Plants should also be watered in advance : A turgid folio is potent than a limp one . ) Spray both sides of the leave-taking , and repeat this intervention according to the recording label guidance to hit all the new hatchling . If the industrial plant are little , dip them in a bucket of the root . Even with dependable easy lay and oils , wait a week after an program before harvest foliage , and then wash out it soundly .
Many herbs actually make good dirt ball repellents ; practice them before an infestation gets out of hand or to prevent a return . Either unused or dried , or infused in a teatime for spraying — chamomile , chive , coriander , dill , fennel , feverfew , garlic , lavender , pennyroyal , rosemary , and tansy all repulse away pests . Try acquire a few of these herbs among your other plants .
The harmless — to humans — unenviable yellow wit ( not pesticide - laced no - pest landing strip ) often recommended for trapping whiteflies and aphids do n’t really arrest many , and in a minuscule garden such as yours , you involve to eradicate pest all . These creatures reproduce at astonishing rate : Aphids multiply even without a partner ; one insect today might have in mind hundreds in a few solar day ’ time . Both whiteflies and aphid thrive in red-hot , ironical , poorly ventilated areas , so spread a window or turn on a sports fan . Of of course , your windowsill may just be too sunny for salad greens — generally nerveless - season crops , they need fill in from spicy good afternoon sun ; an east - facing windowpane is idealistic . By contrast , Mediterranean - native herb like rosemary and thyme , which yearn in cool specter , opt to face to the south . Consider dividing your cat valium and herbs between windowsills with unlike pic : The plants will be sizable and better fitted out to fend off pests on their own — or to tolerate an occasional spritz with soap or rock oil when fly intruders go far .
For more on herbaceous plant gardens , see : How to begin an Herb Garden
